SoilTemp

In this Scientific Research Network, we bring together experts from all these fields to work on a growing database of soil temperatures and associated species data. We aim to complement the existing mechanistic models of soil temperature for use in ecological studies by bringing together regional datasets of topsoil (up to 10 cm below the ground surface) temperatures to work towards an open access global database of soil temperatures (the 'SoilTemp database'). We will use this database to explore general drivers (e.g. topography and vegetation parameters obtained with remote sensing techniques) of soil temperature in space and time, relate patterns in soil temperature to available surface and free-air temperature datasets, and calibrate and validate globally-valid hybrid (statistical + mechanistic) models of soil temperature. The ultimate result will be a set of maps of biologically relevant summary statistics based on interpolated and increasingly calibrated soil temperature across a wide range of habitats (grasslands, forests, croplands, wetlands, etc.) (the 'SoilTemp maps'). These gridded maps/products will be particularly useful to predict responses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning near the soil surface to global change (the 'SoilTemp applications'). Ultimately, application of the database and its derived maps will facilitate conservation decision making across the world, as it will improve the accuracy of many of our ecological models.

Keywords:SOIL STUDIES

Disciplines:Chemical and physical ecology, Community ecology

Project type:Collaboration project